By Drew Johnson

Thursday, May 19th, 2011 @ 1:32 pm

The news surrounding Saab has been rather grim over the last few weeks - between a payment issue with suppliers and a failed deal with Chin's Hawtai Motor - but things look to be getting back on track for the Swedish automaker.

Saab announced on Thursday that it has initiated talks with its 800 suppliers, and has even struck a deal with plastics manufacturer Plastal. Saab was forced to close its Trollahattan plant in early April after it ran out of cash to pay suppliers.

Saab has plenty of work left before it can re-open its doors - the company reportedly owes suppliers as much as $100 million - but the automaker is confident it will resume production by next week.

"What we are aiming at, what is an internal goal here now, is (for production) to be up and running at the end of next week," Saab production director and purchasing manager Gunnar Brunius said.

Saab recently inked a deal with Chin's Pang Da which will give the company an immediate cash infusion of $30 million. If approved by the Chinese government, Pang Da will invest another $84 million is Saab-parent Spyker, giving the Chinese distribution firm a 24 percent stake in the company.

However, if the deal ultimately falls through, Saab will be forced to repay Pang D's initial $30 million investment, throwing the entire future of the company into question.